Agenda - 04-19-1994 - VIII-C - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 4 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Action Agenda Item No. -C, ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: April 19, 1994 SUBJECT: Smart Start Grant Awards for the Personal Health Division DEPARTMENT: HEALTH PUBLIC HEARING: Yes X No ATTACHMENT(S) : INFORMATION CONTACT: 1. Planning Grant. HEALTH DIRECTOR'S OFFICE X2411 2 . Equipment and Program TELEPHONE NUMBER: Improvement Grants. Hillsborough - 732-8181 Chapel Hill - 968-4501 Mebane - 227-2031 Durham - 688-7331 PURPOSE: To consider accepting three grant awards from the Orange County Partnership for Young Children, through the state's "Smart Start" program. The grant awards are as follows: 1) Planning grant for a home visiting program in the amount of $9,526; 2 ) Equipment and program improvements grant for developmental toys, etc. , in the amount of $1,326; 3) Equipment and program improvement grant for a lap-top computer in the amount of $3,350. BACKGROUND: The Orange County Partnership for Young Children (Smart Start) has awarded the Orange County Health Department a Planning Grant to assess the need for and the feasibility of a Home Visiting Program for Orange County to supplement the Child Services Coordination Program. Recent evaluations of home visiting programs have demonstrated improvements in a broad variety of outcomes including, reductions in low birth weight and prematurity rates, better use of prenatal care, improved health related behaviors during pregnancies and decreases in accidents and child abuse. In addition, Smart Start has awarded a grant for health and development screening materials, parent education and a toy lending library for use in approximately 1,000 home visits estimated for 93-94 . Finally, an award was granted to provide a lap-top computer for the School Health Nurse, who coordinates prenatal, post-natal and parenting education of expectant teens and teen parents.